Ozone As Pesticide

Makarand writes "Purdue University researchers in the search for alternatives to insect fumigants that damage Earth's ozone layer have found that ozone gas can be used as a potent pesticide without causing any environmental harm. Farmers could use ozone generators to get rid of insects in their grain bins by releasing ozone in them."

Comments

Low Concentrations

[Rosonowski]

Well, low concentrations are present even in your body. Your immune system uses the ozone to punch holes in bacteria.

After a rainstorm, that funky smell is ozone, created by the lightning passing through the atmosphere.

So, small amounts isn't too bad.

Re:Low Concentrations

[Anonymous Coward]

After a rainstorm, that funky smell is ozone, created by the lightning passing through the atmosphere.

Actually, the "funky smell" after a rainstorm is not ozone. It is another chemical which is released by small organisms called nematodes that live in the soil. Nematodes release this chemical in response to precipitation. I'd cite the source of this information if I could remember where I read it. Basically, the article was about researchers figuring out the composition and source of the "smell of rain." Because most people associate this smell with "freshness", it has commercial value as a perfume to be added to laundry detergents, household cleaners, etc.

Re:Low Concentrations

[dpete4552]

American Lung Association :
Ozone is a potent lung irritant and exposure to elevated levels is a contributor to the exacerbation of lung disease; it is especially dangerous for persons with asthma and other chronic lung diseases, children, and the elderly. Residential indoor ozone is produced directly by ozone generators and indirectly by ion generators and some other electronic air cleaners. There is no difference, despite some manufacturers' claims, between outdoor ozone and ozone produced by these devices.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took action in 1995 against two manufacturers of ozone generating devices. The FTC charged that they made unsubstantiated claims about the ability of their products to clean air of various indoor air pollutants and to prevent or relieve allergies, asthma and other conditions.

Consumer Reports (1992), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (Boeniger, 1995), and the U.S. EPA (1995) concluded that tabletop and room unit ozone generators are not effective in improving indoor air quality. Studies have found that while some indoor air pollutant concentrations decline in the presence of ozone, other pollutants increase. In fact, upon reaction with ozone, some previously undetected, toxic chemicals emerge in indoor air, including formaldehyde and other alehydes (Boeniger, 1995).

There is a lack of evidence in the scientific literature that would support the effectiveness of ozone at low concentrations in removing organic contaminants from indoor air (Boeniger, 1995). A recent study by the U.S. EPA demonstrates that ozone is not effective for killing airborne molds and fungi even at high concentrations (6-9 ppm) (U.S. EPA, 1995). At higher concentrations, especially above 0.08 ppm, ozone is a potent irritant that can bring about diminished lung function, cough, inflammation associated with biochemical changes, and *increased* responsiveness to allergens (Horstman, et al., 1990).
http://www.alaw.org/air_quality/information_and_ referral/indoor_air_quality/ozone_generatiors.html



EPA:
Some manufacturers or vendors suggest that ozone will render almost every chemical contaminant harmless by producing a chemical reaction whose only by-products are carbon dioxide, oxygen and water. This is misleading.

...a review of scientific research shows that, for many of the chemicals commonly found in indoor environments, the reaction process with ozone may take months or years...contrary to specific claims by some vendors, ozone generators are not effective in removing carbon monoxide or formaldehyde...

...for many of the chemicals with which ozone does readily react, the reaction can form a variety of harmful or irritating by-products.

ozone does not remove particles (e.g., dust and pollen) from the air, including the particles that cause most allergies

Ozone is not considered useful for odor removal in building ventilation systems

When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts of ozone can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and, throat irritation. It may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma as well as compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections.

Some studies show that ozone concentrations produced by ozone generators can exceed health standards even when one follows manufacturer's instructions.

The concentration of ozone would have to greatly exceed health standards to be effective in removing most indoor air contaminants. In the process of reacting with chemicals indoors, ozone can produce other chemicals that themselves can be irritating and corrosive. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html
Ozone generators are nothing but a dangerous scam.

Re:Ozone Layer?

[moonbender]

Nice try at a first post that actually makes sense, but of course the ozone used as a pesticide would not help with the regeneration of the ozone layer. It's about 10 miles too low for that ...
It's always been a certain irony that, on the one hand, we have too few ozone in the upper atmosphere while we have too much in the air we breathe (that is, smog). Anyway, at least according to the article, the ozone used as a pesticide would not increase the smog problem in any relevant way. (Which was my first thought.)

Already used for tap water

[Papineau]

Ozone is already used in quite a few water treatment facilities. It's germicide properties are long known.

There's even a company (TSO3) which uses it to sterilize chirurgical instruments, instead of high temps.

Using ozone to kill bugs is simply another use for it, although I wonder if they try to get it back or if they release it in the atmosphere.

Re:Smog?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ozone quickly decays. Artificially producing small amounts of ozone and releasing it does not significantly add to the concentration in the air because the small extra amount quickly disappears through decay. Smog contains substances that increase the rate at which ozone is created from oxygen plus ultraviolet radiation, that effect causes much more ozone to be generated at ground level than artificial means could and significantly shifts the equilibrium of production and decay towards a higher concentration.

Ozone + Grain = Explosion!

[Bruce Perens]

Ozone is a superoxydizer. That's how it kills bacteria and insects. Grain silos already have explosion problems with normal atmospheres - the suspended grain dust tends to form an explosive mixture. Put a superoxydizer in there, and and it might get worse.

There are health issues - though probably not that big - perhaps more free radicals in the air to give you lung cancer, and whatever you get when the ozone recombines with other gases, etc. Maybe nitrous oxides?

Bruce

Re:Ozone + Grain = Explosion!

[IIRCAFAIKIANAL]

I had never heard of this (and I lived in rural Alberta for much of my life) so I hunted around and found this. Just thought I would share it.

Here is a less amusing but more informative site about it as well.

Farming is dangerous work. Between the War Amps commercials ("I lost my arms playing around a thresher!") and the possibility of falling into a grain silo and drowning, it's dangerous enough without adding the whole "exploding silo's" to the mix.

It's hard, easy to go bankrupt, and dangerous. I have nothing but respect for the people that take on that profession.

Ozone gas - Toxic? Only to bacteria and bugs.

[Angry White Guy]

It breaks down in 20 minutes to pure oxygen, unless shielded by a nobel gas. It is one of the most potent oxidizing agents known.

In other words, they'd have to dump a metric assload of the shit to do any damage.

Re:Smog?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're correct. The reasoning is faulty. It's exactly the same sort of reasoning that was used in decades gone by to justify dumping toxic chemicals into lakes/rivers/atmosphere. The assumption involved in this logic is that because the individual entity is dumping some very small amount of material into a very large body of water/air that the concentration of the material approaches infinite dilution. There are a couple flaws in making this assumption. 1) The individual entity doing the dumping is not the only entity doing this. 2) The material eventually accumulates somewhere at the overall dumping rate of all the entities minus the rate at which the material and it's decomposition products react in the environment to become something benign. Sometimes the intermediate decomposition products are far worse for the environment than the original material was (CFCs, for example, are relatively unreactive until they're exposed to UV radiation and become a catalyst that destroys ozone in the upper atmosphere).

whats the purpose of a subject?

[Anonymous Coward]

indoor marijuana growers have known of this convenient side-effect for years. they use ozone generators to neutralize smell.

Not a good thing

[einhverfr]

is that a good thing?
Not really all that great--

A good part of smog near cities is ozone, and this is linked to health problems. The basic problem is that Ozone is not something you want to be breathing anyway, and it belongs in the upper atmosphere, not in our lungs. Basically Ozone is an oxidizing bleaching agent.

I have trouble believing that this would cause no environmental damage, though it could be better than our current alternatives.

Re:Ozone layer must be removed...

[Anonymous Coward]

They in fact did all the work. But by donating money Party X usually gets special consideration on its use unless some explicit contract has been signed otherwise. I mean, they give you millions and then you tell them to screw themselves? That's how you don't get funding the next time you need it.

Either way you look at it, the university wasn't CONTRACTED by the goverment, they were GIVEN a grant to do research. They aren't obligated to give away anything.

Yes, everything must go somewhere

[kmac06]

In this case, it breaks down into diatomic oxygen (whereas ozone is triatomic).I think that counts as dissipating.